My mother and father were new immigrants who met and married in the U.S. But my father didn’t want to be encumbered by a new born, so when my mother was 7 months pregnant he insisted on my mother choosing him or me. She put her foot down and said, “I chose this child over you.” With a job as a garment worker, she didn’t have much disposable income, but nevertheless she was determined to keep me. She was willing to risk her marriage, reputation and economic stability rather than getting rid of her child.

God rewards that kind of gutsy faith. Through the years, I would see my mother make other decisions in which she chose to put her trust in God, no matter what others would say. My mother was following in a line of women who bucked the system to do what was right -- such as Jochebed who kept her son, defying the law of the land that demanded the death of all Hebrew newborn boys (Ex 2.2, 6.20), and Shiphrah and Puah, midwives who were rewarded for their acts of civil disobedience (Ex 1.17, 21). Our sisters and brothers in the early church were no different; they were regularly challenged to obey God over other authorities (Ac 4.19).

Let us honor our spiritual and physical mothers by drawing wisdom and courage from God to do what’s right even in the face of disapproval or opposition.